A few simple questions about the 2017 Keystone RV Hideout 19FLBWE

[SharonM]

Hi gang. An old gal here who is hoping to soon get a 23 ft 2017 Hideout. Here are a few terrific pics of the exact one I want, in case you don't know the layout and would like to.

http://www.gibsrvsuperstore.com/defa...ranceInventory

1) Would it be difficult, do you think, to remove the dinette benches? Does the floor covering go under those benches? I'd keep the table and buy 2 padded folding chairs which could be stored during travel.

2) How wide is the outdoor door opening? I plan to remove the couch and put a 60 pound or so recliner in its place.

3) What brand is the AC? None of the pics I've seen are close enough to read a brand, and I don't recognize the layout of the underside. (Am currently traveling in my 16 ft Scamp that has a heat strip in the AC -- a feature I love.)

4) Would it be insane for me to find a guy with know-how to squeeze extra Dicor into seams here and there on the roof BEFORE the rainy season begins here in Port Orford (Oregon) as a precaution against leaks? How about along the 4 sides of the 4 window frames (What's good to use there?)

I really will appreciate any answers/opinions I receive from you folks.

Sharon

[Mandolin]

I have a Hideout 21FQWE - we have replaced/added/rebuilt a few of the cabinets, and the flooring under the dinette benches and inside the cabinets under the sink is the same flooring as the rest of the trailer, implying that the floor was installed before the cabinets.

The dinette benches should have storage underneath, either through a door or the seat of the dinette lifting. You are going to have to look inside and see if the flooring runs under. It shouldn't be hard to tell if the flooring is contiguous (ie: laid down with no break) or if the flooring was put in after the dinette was in. I wouldn't be too sure that the flooring wouldn't have scrapes or marks on it from the install of the dinette benches that you might see after you took the benches out. The dinette benches have a base frame that is screwed to the floor and the screw holes will need to be filled. You can probably find a filler that sort of matches them.

I get what you are trying to do, but I'd probably leave the dinette bench on the closet side and just remove the one closest the door. The other thing to check through the dinette storage is the wall on the "closet" behind the dinette bench - does the decorative veener go all the way down to the floor or when the dinette bench is removed will you see just plywood (or press board or whatever it is). Another choice would be to just shorten the dinette bench right there to be only the width of the closet.

To widen the galley kitchen, if you removed/alter the dinette benches you could also turn the table the other way - measure first to make sure it won't block the door. We have the big u-shaped dinette at the back of our trailer and we turned the table 90° -ours is on stand-alone folding legs though, not the piers yours seem to be on.

I know that the doors are pretty much standard through most Keystone models and they manage to get recliners in some of them - they look on the slim side, though, so a big bulky recliner might not fit.

[JRTJH]

Most RV furniture is bolted together. All recliners that I've seen (home and RV types) have a removeable back, so in pieces, most will fit through an RV door. You may need to wrap the "cushioned bulk" with a blanket or towels to compress and protect the upholstery from tears and stains when "pushing it through" the doorway.

As for the existing sofa, it also is bolted together and is probably "screwed to the studs" in the trailer sidewall. Typically two or three #2 Roberts square drive screws are "hidden in the sofa back" to secure it and keep it from "drifting across the floor" during towing. Look carefully and you'll see under the sofa skirt and in the "creases" underneath the seat cushions where the bolt heads are located that hold the arms and the seat/back together. Usually on a jack-knife sofa, only the arms are bolted on and the seat/back are folded into a bed to move through the doorway. On a "tri-fold" sofa bed, the arms are unbolted and the back is unbolted and the 4 pieces are then removed from the trailer.

[SharonM]

Maureen and John -- thank you both very much for your input. My Hideout will arrive either tomorrow or friday, and then the fun begins. The dealership has already agreed to remove the sofa-sleeper, and I've ordered a recliner that has the back that comes off. As recliners go, this one tends more to the petite side versus the oversize, so I think it'll work out without a "catastrophic" squeeze play through the doorway. I shall sit in my recliner and ponder the dinette situation. I travel alone, live alone, and really don't need seating for 4. When I get things organized and changed around, I'll send pics. Again, thanks.

Sharon

[Mandolin]

Originally Posted by SharonM

Maureen and John -- thank you both very much for your input. My Hideout will arrive either tomorrow or friday, and then the fun begins. The dealership has already agreed to remove the sofa-sleeper, and I've ordered a recliner that has the back that comes off. As recliners go, this one tends more to the petite side versus the oversize, so I think it'll work out without a "catastrophic" squeeze play through the doorway. I shall sit in my recliner and ponder the dinette situation. I travel alone, live alone, and really don't need seating for 4. When I get things organized and changed around, I'll send pics. Again, thanks.

Sitting and contemplating is a good idea. A lot of the dinettes are not really seating for 4, they are roomy seating for 2. Our trailer has a u-shaped dinette that takes the entire end wall of the trailer and we had 4 adults for breakfast & dinner and it was, ummm, very cozy (of course, we are used to it being just the two of us).

I use the table a lot for various projects and for using my computer and I like a comfier seat than just a folding chair. I did take the seat cushions to an upholsterer and had them put in much firmer foam, which I really like. Plus they said that a few years down the road if the foam starts to compress, it can be steamed back in to shape.